Health Benefits of Music

Music has a special power to move us and stir our emotions. Anyone who has ever wiped tears away from their eyes listening to their favourite sad song will know how powerful simple notes and chords can be.

Now, scientific studies have shown that music really can change our mood and even help us concentrate.

We look at the effects music can have, and we ask the experts what songs are likely to help you run a race, prepare for an exam or relieve stress.

Music matters

Listening to a song can have a real effect on various parts of the brain, with studies showing that areas responsible for aspects, such as memory and vision, can 'light up' in response to music.

'There's a very wide range of reactions in the body and mind to music, and brain imaging studies have shown that various parts of the brain may be activated by a piece of music,' says Dr Victoria Williamson, lecturer in psychology at Goldsmith's College, London.

'For example, a recent study in Canada showed that there's a real causal relationship between music and the reward system, a core part of the brain that reacts to stimuli, which are good for us – food, light, sex for example – and reinforces these behaviours meaning that we do them more.'

So what benefits can music bring?

Mood boost

Some people listen to music for a boost on a tough day, while others might use music to keep them awake during a long car journey.

Everyone reacts to music in different ways. One individual may love heavy metal for example, while another is happiest listening to Mozart.

Whatever your preference, a 2011 Canadian study, published in Nature Neuroscience, has shown that plugging in to your favourite music could help melt away a bad mood.

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal showed that listening to pleasurable music of any description induced 'musical chills', which triggered the release of the feel-good chemical dopamine.

'We all know from our own individual experiences that listening to music can affect mood,' says Bridget O'Connell, head of information at the mental health charity Mind.

'Some people listen to music for a boost on a tough day, while others might use music to keep them awake during a long car journey or to purge a negative feeling.

'The brain is very complicated – and there are many elements involved in feelings of pleasure – but it's unsurprising that research suggests dopamine release is linked with feelings of pleasure induced by music.'

Focus

Music may even be able to help you concentrate.

A new 'digital tonic' called Ubrain, which can be downloaded onto smartphones, claims to be able to help people focus, energise, wake up as well as relax.

The process uses two different beats in each ear to create a third 'perceived' beat (a binaural beat), which can stimulate certain activity in the brain.

'By helping the brain cortex to generate specific brain waves, we can induce different states of alertness, depending on what we aim to do,' explains Paris-based clinical psychologist Brigitte Forgeot.

'If we're feeling anxious or stressed, we can encourage our cerebral cortex to produce slow alpha-frequency brain waves, while on the other end of the scale, if we help our cortex to produce faster beta waves, we will be better equipped to concentrate and focus our attention on a fairly lengthy task.'

Pick up the pace

The best choices for exercise are up-beat songs that match the tempo of your running stride.

Listening to certain music could actually help you run faster.

A study at Brunel University in West London has shown that music can help increase endurance by as much as 15 per cent, helping to lower the perception of effort during exercise, as well as increasing energy efficiency by between one and three per cent.

The best choices for exercise are up-beat songs that match the tempo of your running stride and which can have a metronomic effect on the body, enabling you to run for longer.

Better mental health

Music can be an effective and positive treatment for people dealing with mental health conditions.

'There are two distinct ways music therapy is used: either as a means of communication and self-expression or for its inherent restorative or healing qualities,' says Bridget O'Connell.

'Someone who is very withdrawn may find that music can act as an outlet for expressing things that they're unable to put into words. It can also act as a stimulus to awaken buried memories or evoke emotional responses that may take weeks to achieve with talking therapies.'

De-stress

Nearly a third of people plugged into their music players to give them a mood boost about work.

Music can be a great pick-me-up for when you are feeling stressed.

According to 2011 figures from the mental health charity Mind, nearly a third of people plugged into their music players to give them a mood boost about work, and almost one in four said that they find listening to music on the way to the workplace helps them de-stress.

Paul Farmer, the charity's CEO, backs up the statistics by saying that the therapeutic benefits of listening to music are well-known.

Tuning in to one of your favourite songs can be incredibly soothing and help to reduce anxiety.

Patient care

Music can actually have a significant positive impact on patients with long-term illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer and respiratory conditions.

Numerous trials have shown that music can help lower heart rate, blood pressure and help relieve pain, anxiety and improve patient quality of life.

'Music can be incredibly useful for somebody who is in a situation where they have lost a lot of control from their external environment – say they are in hospital for a long period of time with a serious illness and less able to move around,' says Dr Williamson.

'It can give them a sense of control back, as well as creating a calm personal atmosphere and blocking out some of the disturbances around the patient.'

Which music?

While there are certain trends – fast upbeat music for exercising and slower-paced music to relax – choosing songs that have the desired effect is often linked to personal preference.

'The effect of different types of music on mood will largely depend on people's individual preference and experience,' says Bridget O'Connell.

'If you grow up with rock music, you might not find classical music uplifting at all. On the flipside, some people can't bear rock music, so they are more likely to be wound up than uplifted.

'Music can also invoke particular memories for people, including some that could potentially make them upset. On the other hand, it could also bring them out of a severely withdrawn state or act as a form of communication in place of words.'

There are some rules of thumb though, admits Dr Williamson. 'For a general rule, if you want to relax you should choose songs with slower tempo, less key changes and more predictable structure.' 
 


Read more: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/wellbeing/health-benefits-of-music.htm#ixzz2dnlk69Vg 
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Your Child's Health: Good Habits Why are healthy habits important?

Childhood is the best time to learn the healthy 

habits that can last a lifetime. The earlier in life 

your child builds good, healthy habits, the easier 

it is to keep them, for the best possible health. 

Your child learns habits by watching you. If you 

have healthy habits, like eating a variety of 

healthy foods and being active, your children 

are more likely to build those habits into their 

own lives. 

Healthy eating 

Healthy eating can help your child feel good, 

stay at a healthy weight, and have lots of energy 

for school and play. Encourage your child to eat 

lots of: 

• Fruits and vegetables. 

• Lean meats. 

• Nonfat and low-fat dairy products. 

• Whole grains. 

Limit these foods: 

• Fat, sugar, and highly processed foods 

• Sweet liquids, such as soda, fruit juices, and 

sports drinks 

• Fast foods 

Make small changes 

Make healthy food choices for your family's 

meals. Children notice the choices you make 

and follow your example. Start with small, 

easy-to-achieve changes, such as offering more 

fruits and vegetables at meals and snacks. 

• Set up a regular snack and meal schedule. 

Most children do well with three meals and 

two or three snacks a day. 

• Eat as a family as often as possible. Keep 

family meals pleasant and positive. Avoid 

making comments about the amount or type 

of food your child eats. Pressure to eat 

actually reduces children's acceptance of new 

or different foods. 

• Find at least one food from each food group 

that your child likes. Make sure it is readily 

available most of the time. 

• Serve breakfast. Having breakfast with your 

child can help start a lifelong healthy habit. 

• Let your child drink no more than 1 small 

cup of juice, sports drink, or soda a day. 

Encourage your child to drink water when 

he or she is thirsty. 

• Don't buy junk food. Get healthy snacks that 

your child likes, and keep them within easy 

reach. Healthy and kid-friendly snack 

ideas include: 

◦ String cheese. 

◦ Whole wheat crackers and peanut butter. 

◦ Fruit and dried fruit. 

◦ Baby carrots with hummus or bean dip. 

◦ Low-fat yogurt with fresh fruit.

Healthy eating doesn't mean that your child has 

to give up all treats. Those types of foods can 

be okay now and then. Moderation is the goal. 

Share the responsibility 

You decide when, where, and what the family 

eats. Your child chooses whether and how much 

to eat from the options you provide. 

Young children are good at listening to their 

bodies. They eat when they're hungry and stop 

when they're full. When you try to control how 

much children eat, you interfere with this natural 

ability. Keeping this division of responsibility 

helps your child stay in touch with those 

internal cues. 

Help your children learn to eat slowly and 

recognize when they are full. Don't let rules, 

pleading, or bargaining dictate your child's 

eating patterns. 

Physical activity 

One of the best things you can do for your 

child's health is to help make physical activity 

a habit. If physical activity is a habit for you, it 

will more likely become a habit for your 

children. 

Find ways for your child to be active for at least 

1 hour each day. Children can break up the time 

into several 10- to 15-minute periods of vigorous 

exercise throughout the day. 

Make it fun 

Don't force your children to exercise. Instead, 

find activities that they enjoy. Make physical 

activity part of daily routines. 

• Jump rope, dance, skate, or play Frisbee with 

your child. 

• Walk with your child to do errands, or walk 

to the bus stop or school, if possible. 

• Have your child invite a friend over once a 

week for an activity, such as a bike ride, a 

water balloon fight, or building a snow fort. 

• Let your child try different organized 

activities to see what he or she enjoys, such 

as tennis, T-ball, soccer, or martial arts. 

• Let your child pick out a low-cost toy that 

promotes activity, such as a jump rope, 

Frisbee, or ball. 

Get the whole family involved 

When the whole family is involved in physical 

activities together, children learn that being 

active is fun and makes you feel good. 

• Ride bikes, walk, fly a kite, or hike together. 

• Give family members tasks such as 

sweeping, weeding, or washing the car. 

• Take your family to the park or pool. 

• Join other families for group activities like 

touch football, basketball, or hide-and-seek. 

TV and video games 

Limit TV, video games, or computer 

time to 2 hours a day or less (not 

including time for schoolwork). Help 

your child plan how he or she will use 

this time. Many doctors recommend 

no TV for children under 2 years of 

age. To help your child's brain 

develop, it's best to talk, play, sing, or 

read together instead. 

How to Have a Winning Winter Workout

Working out in cold weather may seem less strenuous than exercising on summer days. But winter poses its own challenges.

Although you may not feel as sweaty and heated during your outdoor workout, you are still losing a lot of water and must stay hydrated. If you're going to run outside for at least an hour, you should bring water, and possibly food, with you. Plus, drink two glasses (16 ounces) of water before starting your run. You can use your urine as a good indicator for your hydration—it should be pale yellow throughout the entire day.

Also, your body's heat regulation has to work extra hard to keep your body temperature constant. Dressing in layers keeps you warm before your body gets heated; once you warm up, simply remove a layer.

You'll also want to make sure to fuel up and recover with carbohydrates. Consider a fruit-based bread, like the pumpkin bread recipe I posted several weeks ago. Or, fuel up on oatmeal with fruit and, after your workout, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or grilled cheese with tomato soup.

One of my favorite fitness recipes for this time of year is a hearty chili, full of starchy, seasonal vegetables that provide great fuel for your muscles. The recipe below has starchy beans, parsnips, hominy, and peppers. It's a vegetarian dish, but you can add lean protein like ground turkey or pre-cooked shrimp. Serve with rice, red onions, cilantro, sour cream, and chips.

Winter Chili

Prep Time: 20 min.

Cook Time: 25 min.

Serves: 12

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 medium garlic cloves, very finely chopped

• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• One 14-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes

• 1 canned chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 cup canned hominy, drained

• 1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained

• Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a medium-sized, heavy-duty, enameled cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven.

2. Add the onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring until slightly softened, about three minutes.

3. Add the bell pepper, parsnips, and carrots, and cook. Stir occasionally, until lightly browned in spots, about five minutes.

4. Stir in the chili powder and cumin, and season with salt. Cook for one minute.

5. In a blender, puree the tomatoes and their juices with the chipotle, adobo sauce, and water until very smooth.

6. Add the tomato mixture along with the hominy and beans. Bring to a boil.

7. Cover partially, and simmer the chili over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

8. Season with salt.

Performance Foods: What and When to Eat Before Your Next Workout

It's happened to the best of us: You head out for a run or to a class at the gym with just a bottle of water, and midway through your workout, you bonk. You hit the wall and feel lightheaded, weak, or just plain out of steam.

In fact, it happened to me this past weekend when I woke up just 30 minutes before an outdoor boot camp. I managed to grab a waffle out of my daughter's hand and nibbled on it as I sprinted up the hill to the park. I was doing fine until the instructor asked us to do two-leg jump ups on a rather high park bench. My brain said "yes," but my legs said "no" and ultimately, I had to sit out the drill.

[See Stay Fit Without Setting Foot in The Gym]

Exercising on an empty stomach is generally a bad idea, but It can be tough to figure out how much to eat before you work out and what types of fuel will be easy to digest. About the only thing worse than not having enough energy to get through a run or swim is having an unsettled stomach. And since so many of us are fitting in workouts during our lunch breaks and before picking up the kids, we often don't think about a recovery snack.

Here's my guide for everyday athletes on what to eat before and after your sweat sessions:

Pre-Workout

[See Facts and Myths About Fueling Up Before Your Workout]

People often ask me how far in advance they should eat before exercising. Generally, the answer is an hour. So if you're heading to a 7 a.m. spin class, fuel up at 6 a.m. Of course, when time is tight, you may be running out the door with nothing in your stomach. In that case, a good old banana is the best thing you can munch on. It's easy to digest, portable, requires no utensils, and you can down it quickly. I always have a bunch sitting in a bowl by my front door so they're easy to grab.

What should a pre-workout snack consist of? Ideally, it's a mix of carbohydrates with a bit of protein, totaling no more than 200 calories. And the food should be easy to digest and not something you'll be burping up 20 minutes into your run. Eww! Here are some ideas:

• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt, with 1 teaspoon honey and 2 tablespoons muesli.

• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup cubed cantaloupe and 2 tablespoons of low-fat granola. Swap out the cantaloupe for an equal portion of watermelon in the summer and diced apple in the winter.

• 1 frozen waffle, toasted, topped with 1 tablespoon of natural almond or peanut butter and 1/2 pear, sliced.

(For a gluten-free option, use 2 brown rice cakes instead of the English muffin.)

[See What is Gluten, Anyway?]

In addition to drinking about eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day, you'll also want to take in 4 to 8 ounces of water for every 15 minutes of intense exercise. On days when you're doing a morning workout, you want to start hydrating as soon as you wake up. If you wait to drink until you're actually exercising, there won't be time to fully hydrate yourself. Even when it's cold outside, it's still crucial to drink water!

Maintaining your core body temperature is vital when you're exercising in cold weather, and it's tougher for your body to keep your core warm when you're not properly hydrated.

[See How to Have a Winning Winter Workout]

Do you need an electrolyte-enhanced sports drink? Only if you're exercising for more than an hour, or in hot, humid weather. Otherwise, your body will be able to replace any lost sodium and potassium through the food in your next meal. That brings us to the all-important recovery snack.

Post-Workout

Eating within two hours of a workout is important for muscle recovery. The faster you can take in carbohydrates after a workout—ideally within 15 to 20 minutes—the more quickly you'll be able to replenish muscle glycogen (stored energy), which is the fuel your body uses during exercise.

The components of a post-workout meal or snack vs. pre-workout food are similar: You want a mix of carbohydrates and protein, but since you'll have more time to digest the food, you can be a bit more adventurous and can go heavier on the protein. Also, intense exercise creates oxidative damage to your cells, so I like to include an antioxidant-rich food in my post-workout mix to help combat the added stress.

In terms of calories, if you're just grabbing a quick recovery snack before another meal, stick to 200 to 250 calories. But if you can actually sit down and take a bit of time to refuel, you may want to take in up to 400 calories.

If your goal is weight loss, make sure that your total calorie intake per day is still creating enough of a deficit to shed pounds. However, skipping recovery fuel by thinking that it will help you lose weight is counterproductive— you won't be able to build muscle, and your next workout will suffer because you haven't replenished your stored fuel.

Here are some favorite post-workout options:

• 1 whole-wheat English muffin, toasted, with 1/2 avocado, mashed, and a spritz of lemon juice: 250 calories.

• 2 mini pitas and 2 eggs, scrambled, with 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan and 1 cup baby spinach: 330 calories.

• 1 cheese stick or mini cheese round, 1 orange, and 1 energy bar or fruit and nut bar (180-200) calories: 380-400 calories.

Don't forget to keep drinking water after your workout and throughout the rest of the day. If you're training for a race, always make sure to test out a new fuel (bars, gels, etc.) before race day to make sure they'll agree with your stomach.

Keep moving, stay fueled and good luck with all of your 2013 goals!

Lifestyle secrets of the world's healthiest countries

The world's fattest country, if measured by Body Mass Index (BMI) is Kuwait, according to the Mail Online. With an average of 29.5 they are well above what's considered healthy.

"A healthy BMI for an adult is between 18.5 and 24.9 and it's calculated by dividing your weight by your height squared (BMI = weight / (height) x (height))," says Clinical Dietitian Dr Naras Lapsys of The Body Doctor.

Australia  also performed poorly, recording an average BMI of 27.5, making us the 17th fattest nation in the world.

On your bike: incidental exercise improves our odds of a healthy BMI.

So what lifestyle lessons can we learn from some of our healthier cousin countries?

Advertisement 

NETHERLANDS
In a country where bikes out number people, it's not surprising the Netherlands scored a healthier average BMI of 25.

"The Dutch do a large amount of incidental activity mostly done through active travel," says Adrian Bauman, a professor of public health of The University of Sydney. "40 per cent of the country travels by bike, those who drive a car are in the minority."

Renee Veldman-Tentori is an Australian living in the Netherlands and says the infrastructure of the major towns support this cycling obsession. "I cycled everywhere until the last week of my pregnancies and even now I put my kids in the bike trailer to get around," she says. Only the cold weather stops us a little, but then we just use public transport instead."

Healthy Tip – Increase incidental exercise. Leave the car at home and use public transport or walk to your destination on a more regular basis.

JAPAN
Japan performed exceptionally well recording an average BMI of 22.5 and Kim Ferris who lived in Tokyo for 22 years says that obesity is virtually non-existent.

Portion control and eating a wide variety of foods are the foundation of a Japanese diet and boosts your intake of important vitamins and minerals. "A Japanese diet is high in the nutrient-rich soy and their daily consumption of fish offers a high omega 3 intake, all important for optimal health," says Dr Lapsys.

Ferris says each meal in a Japanese diet can consist of up to six teacup-sized portions of different foods with vegetables forming a large component of every meal. "Unusual foods such as Natto (fermented soy beans) and five or six varieties of seaweed are eaten daily. These are highly regarded by the Japanese for their health properties," she says.

Healthy Tip – Increase the variety of your diet. "Japanese people aim to eat 30 – 40 different things every day," says Ferris.

NORWAY
The Norwegians recorded an average BMI of 25.3 largely due to a culture that favours an active lifestyle. Infrastructure such as indoor stadiums and outdoor lighting encourage locals to get out and about even in the winter months. "Things like hiking, cycling, kayaking, skiing and fishing are all regular pastimes in Norway," says Professor Bauman.

Peta Alexander is originally from Norway and says that a typical Norwegian is home from work at 4pm for an early dinner before heading out to play sport or participate in another form of exercise.

The sale of alcohol is also regulated by the government and highly taxed, making it unaffordable for many Norwegians and contributes to their healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Tip – Limit alcohol intake. The National Health and Medical Research Council recommend no more than two standard drinks per day to reduce the risk of alcohol-related diseases such as heart and liver disease.

ITALY
The pizzas, pastas and gelato of a typical Italian diet are delicious, but when made in the traditional way they can also be healthy giving the Italians a 25.1 average BMI.

"The Mediterranean diet of a typical Italian is high in olive oil, legumes, unprocessed carbohydrates, fish, fruit and vegetables," says Professor Bauman. "These high fibre and protein rich foods have many benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes," adds Dr Lapsys.

Luca Zandona is an Italian living in Sydney and says that cooking and eating are a way of life in his home country. "I've never seen anyone in my family eat takeaway except for the occasional pizza," he says.

Healthy Tip – Get into some home cooking and reduce your intake of unhealthy and highly processed fast foods. Cook in bulk and freeze meals as a convenient alternative to takeaway.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/lifestyle-secrets-of-the-worlds-healthiest-countries-20130521-2jyld.html#ixzz2bxLrOtCR

Reading Is Good for Your Brain

You may have heard the term "lifelong learning." Though learning begins when we are children, education is truly a never-ending process—and reading is an important part of learning for everyone. Reading not only keeps us informed about the world around us, but also provides intellectual stimulation and helps keep us mentally sharp.

Reading offers benefits not found in more "passive" media. It gives the brain a much better workout than does watching television. When we watch TV, we take in the information in a passive way. But reading allows the mind to:

• pause, reflect, think
• operate more actively
• use intellect and emotion together
• develop a longer attention span.

Reading about a subject provides far more comprehensive information than watching TV. And we are in more control—we can skim over portions that interest us less, move backwards and forwards, re-read, savor.

Reading helps keep us oriented and engaged. Science, history, biography, self-help-our picture of our world and the world around us is "filled in" a little more with each book we read.

We don't just read because it's good for our brains, of course! For many people, there is no greater pleasure than to curl up with a good book. Reading lets us travel to anywhere in the world and in time without leaving the comfort of our own chair. We can visit a fantasy realm with JRR Tolkien, or the American West with Louis L'Amour, or solve a treacherous mystery with Agatha Christie. Romance fans travel to exotic locales with their heroes and heroines. The Harry Potter books have been popular with readers of every age. When we read, we can experience all sort of adventures without even getting our feet wet!

Reading can also be a great way to visit with friends—or to make new ones. What better way to get lively conversation going than to have people with interests in common read and discuss books, magazines or the newspaper? Consider joining a book group—or starting one. And don't forget that when grandchildren visit, they may love to have you read aloud to them. Then have them demonstrate their own reading skills. Or join a volunteer "read aloud" program in a local school or library.

Can't Decide What To Read?

Rereading an old favorite book can be like visiting an old friend. Or try a new type of book. If you enjoyed a book by a certain author, try others by the same writer. Ask a friend for recommendations. Check out book reviews in the local newspaper or on the Internet. And some online bookstores, such asAmazon.com, feature reading lists shared by others. Enter the name of a favorite book—and see what others who like it are also reading.

Have You Investigated Your Local Public Library Lately?

You may be surprised at the great selection of books. And most libraries now feature websites with an online card catalog, where you can find books, look at suggestions, and put books on reserve. Some systems even let you manage your own reserve books. If it looks like too many of your reserve books are going to arrive at the same time or when you are going to be out of town, you can suspend the hold online until a later date, arranging for the book to arrive when you have more time.

Is Sight Impairment Making Reading Difficult or Impossible for You or a Friend?

As we reach our mid-sixties and beyond, almost every one of us will have at least some degree of sight impairment. Reduced ability to focus and related conditions may cause difficulty in reading standard-sized print. But this need not prevent older adults from enjoying a good book. Large-print books, magnifiers, books on tape, or read-aloud programs are all good alternatives. Ask your librarian for suggestions.

Education and Health

Findings

• Better educated people have lower morbidity rates from the most common acute and chronic diseases, independent of basic demographic and labor market factors.
• Life expectancy is increasing for everyone in the United States, yet differences in life expectancy have grown over time between those with and without a college education.
• Health behaviors alone cannot account for health status differences between those who are less educated and those who have more years of education.
• The mechanisms by which education influences health are complex and are likely to include (but are not limited to) interrelationships between demographic and family background indicators, effects of poor health in childhood, greater resources associated with higher levels of education, a learned appreciation for the importance of good health behaviors, and one’s social networks.

Background

A large and persistent association between education and health has been well-documented in many countries and time periods and for a wide variety of health measures. In their paper, "Education and Health: Evaluating Theories and Evidence," presented at the National Poverty Center conference "The Health Effects of Non-Health Policy," David M. Cutler and Adriana Lleras-Muney review literature and conduct statistical analyses on the relationship between education and health. They find a clear association between education and health that cannot be fully explained by income, the labor market, or family background indicators. The authors note that the relationship between health and education is a complicated one, with a range of potential mechanisms shaping the connection between education and health.

What is the Relationship between Education and Health?

To test the relationship between education and health, Cutler and Lleras-Muney analyze data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which includes a large number of health outcomes and behaviors. They restrict their analysis to respondents who are at least twenty-five years or older, since most of these individuals have completed their education. First, Cutler and Lleras- Muney examine individuals’ mortality rates. By matching respondents with death certificates obtained through the National Death Index, they find that individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to die within five years of the interview. An additional four years of education lowers five year mortality by 1.8 percentage points (relative to a base of 11 percent).

They also find that better educated individuals are less likely to self-report a past diagnosis of an acute or chronic disease, less likely to die from the most common acute and chronic diseases, and are less likely to report anxiety or depression. The magnitude of the relationship between education and health varies across conditions, but it is generally large. More education reduces the risk of heart disease by 2.2 percentage points (relative to a base of 31 percent) and the risk of diabetes by 1.3 percentage points (relative to a base of 7 percent). An additional four more years of schooling lowers the probability of reporting being in fair or poor health by 6 percentage points (the mean is 12 percent), and reduces lost days of work to sickness by 2.3 days each year (relative to 5.2 on average). Figure 1 presents these results. Individuals with an additional four years of education also report more positive health behaviors. As shown in Figure 2, they are less likely to smoke (11 percentage points relative to a mean of 23 percent), to drink a lot (7 fewer days of 5 or more drinks in a year, among those who drink, from a base of 11), to be overweight or obese (5 percentage points lower obesity, compared to an average of 23 percent), or to use illegal drugs (0.6 percentage points less likely to use other illegal drugs, relative to an average of 5 percent). Despite the difference in health behaviors between better educated and less educated individuals, health behaviors alone can not explain all of the disparities in health outcomes between these two groups.

Differential Impact of Education: Level of Schooling, Age, Gender, Race, and Poverty

For many health outcomes, there are positive health consequences related to increased education. For example, an almost linear negative relationship exists between mortality and years of schooling and between self-reported fair/poor health status and years of schooling. For some health outcomes, such as functional limitations and obesity, the impact of education appears to be even more positive once individuals have obtained education beyond a high school degree. The effects of education on health vary by age, with the education effect falling between the ages of 50 and 60. There are several possible reasons for this: 1) less educated people are less likely to survive into older age, but those who do are relatively healthy and hence less different from the more educated; 2) education may have become more important to health outcomes in recent years; and/or 3) the relationship between education and health may be less significant once adults retire.

The effect of education seems to be the same for both men and women across most outcomes, with a few exceptions such as depression. Where the effect of education does differ by gender, it is unclear whether these differences are caused by biological sex differences or differences in the behavior of men and women. Similarly, there are few racial differences in the impact of education on health. For outcomes that do reveal differences between Whites and Blacks, such as being in fair or poor health, Whites tend to experience more positive health benefits from educational advancement, compared to Blacks with the same level of education. Lastly, the authors find that additional years of education have a larger impact on health for those not living in poverty compared to those who are poor.

Explaining the Relationship between Education and Health

Cutler and Lleras-Muney suggest three broad explanations for the association between health and education, although they recognize that these do not represent an exhaustive list. The first is that poor health leads to lower levels of schooling, since poor health in childhood is linked to poor health in adulthood. However, it is unlikely that the correlation between child health and adult health fully explains the relationship between adult health and completed education. Because few children in the U.S. fail to attend school solely because of illness, one would anticipate the relationship between education and health to weaken over time. However, this relationship has strengthened, suggesting that poor health alone cannot explain the relationship between education and health.

The second potential explanation is that additional factors, such as family background or individual differences, both increase schooling and improve health. Some researchers suggest that the relationship between education and health can be explained by unobserved factors and skills, such as the ability to delay gratification, that make better educated individuals healthier. Cutler and Lleras-Muney, however, assert that evidence related to this explanation has been mixed at best. In their own models, adding family background factors decreases the effect of education, although it does not explain all of the association between health and education.

The third potential explanation for the link between education and health is that increased education directly improves health. Quasi-natural experiments have demonstrated causal influences of various changes in educational policies and of maternal education on health outcomes and also that increasing own education improves one’s own health. However these natural experiments have not considered the quality of schooling. Furthermore, experiments tend to use study participants whose characteristics differ from those of the rest of the population, making it difficult to generalize the findings beyond the research samples. The authors conclude that one should apply caution when considering this account as the full explanation for the relationship between health and education.

Cutler and Lleras-Muney also explore potential mechanisms that could affect the relationship between health and education. One important mechanism is income, as greater financial resources may enable more access to health care. The authors note, however, that while this may partially explain the relationship between health and education, when they hold income constant, the impact of education on health does not disappear.

Another possible mechanism is differential access to the health care system. Again, this cannot fully account for the relationship between education and health because there are differences in health outcomes across education groups in both the incidence of disease and in risk factors, such as smoking, which occur even before the health system becomes a factor in shaping health. Cutler and Lleras-Muney also find that better jobs, higher incomes, opportunities for health insurance, safer work environments and other job attributes cannot fully explain the relationship.

The authors also evaluate group differences in valuing the future, access to health information, general cognitive skills, individual characteristics, rank in society, and social networks. They conclude that each factor alone insufficiently explains the relationship between education and health. For example, although better educated people tend to be more informed about health issues, it is unlikely that group differences in access to information can sufficiently explain the impact of education on health. Similarly, there is little empirical evidence on the impact of cognitive skills on the relationship between education and health, nor is there evidence that social networks or individual differences in psychological factors such as risk aversion explain a sizeable proportion of the health differentials by education. Cutler and Lleras-Muney conclude that more complex models are needed to explore potential mechanisms for the association between education and health.

Policy Implications

There is a direct relationship between education and health—better educated individuals have more positive health outcomes. This association remains substantial and significant even after controlling for job characteristics, income, and family background. This suggests that educational policies have the potential to substantially improve health. Cutler and Lleras-Muney suggest that policies that promote college attendance would be particularly beneficial. They also suggest a role for improving the quality of schools.

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In addition to the National Poverty Center, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation provided support for this project and the conference.